Sealing-wax-applying device.



B. BRYAN.

SEALING WAX APPLYING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 17, 1912.

Patented Sept. 1, 1914.

v 2 SHEETS-SHEBT 1.

INVENTOR WITNESSES I 7 /6MwjZ;;/.

. BRYAN.

SEALING WAX APPLYING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 17,1912.

1 1 U9 U 34 a wi/f/wmao To all whom it may concern iennrmnns BRYAN, on wnsnmoaon, Dreamer cream-In.

snnnme-wax-nrnamno neuron.

Be it knownthat I, BARNABAS ems, a citizen .of the United States, residing at Washington, in the District of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sealing-Wax-Applying Devices, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

lhls lnventlon relates to lmprovements 1n "devices for melting and applying sealing wax; and an object of this lhvention' is to provide a device of this character which will be simple in construction, com aratively cheap in manufacture and e cient and economical inope t on and use! Another object of this invention is the provision in a device of this character of heating means which will deliver the Wax in such a state of plasticity as will render the,

operation of sealing rapid.

A third object of this inventionis the provision of a sealing-wax applying device in which the wax not in the vicinity of the heating elementswill. be maintained in a cool condition, whereby the instrument will be kept in a clean andunclogged condition ready for immediate service when next required for' use.

A' further object of this invention is to' provide a device of the type just mentioned which will be suitable for periods of long continued use and which, therefore, will not absorb and retain heat.

A fifth obj ectof this invention is the provision'in' a device of the class just referred to of means for controlling the heat generated and the concentration thereof upon that portion of the Wax which is to be melted for immediate use so as to give the same the required degree of plasticity without producing a too high temperature and Y a too great softness, both of which latter tend to retard the operation of sealing,:par-

i In the d awings illustrating the p inciple I ticularly where the number ofpackages to be sealed is large. Y

Asixth object of this invention-is so to arrange the heating:- elements as to permit a free flow. of the molten wax therefrom and thereby toincrease the rapidity of the operationof sealing.

Specification of Leta-ere Eatent' Application filed June 17, 1912. serial No. 204,053.

detail, in Section showing the interior con structionof one of the heating elements; F igis a detai sho i g the manne in which one of the resistance coils o the heating elements is wound; Fig. 7 is a detail showing in elevation one face of the mica dasing of the resistance coils; Fig. 8 is a detail showing the opposite side or face of the casingillustratcd in Fig. 7 Fig. 9 is a detail showing in perspective'the outside sheet-metal housing or cover for the heating element;-Fig. 10 is an elevation, partly in section of, a" modified form of this invention, andFig. 11 is a planview of the Same.

Similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the severa ratenteuse c. a, 1914.

The dy Por a of th instrument is 7 al 1n transverse section ig- 2) and is so sh ed-as .to he read y g asped and h ld in h hand a ter the manner of a handlc. -For. making this body portion a, there should.

be used a ma ial wh ch s a poor conductor of-heat (a heat-insulat ng substan and at the same time a bad conductor of electricity (electric; insulator). The patented substance which is commercially known as "b.akelite has been found'by me to serve this purpose well. The body ort on a is formed with a c ntral longitn,.nal

bore b which is of suitable section (that is,

suitably shaped) to receive a stick of sealing wax 20. The upper end of this centrally-disposed bore 6 may be closed by a 4 spring-held cap 05. At each side of the tubular bore 12 there is formed inthe body a a lengthwise extending passage or channel e through which passes one of the lead Wires f fro a .sulta le sour e of electric current (not shown).

From the working or lower cnd of the description of both: Upon a strip 6 of suit;

electrical pressure of 110 volts.

self along its midline i.

coil wire j,

able piece of lamprcord forming one of the body a there projects a pair .of arms 9 which are preferably formed integral therewith and which tudinal axis of the instrument. These arms 9 convergetoward each other and serve to support the stick of sealing wax 20. Each of these arms carries on its inner face a heating element h; and, since the construction of these heating elements 72. is the same, a description of one of themwill suflice as a able insulating material. (such as mica) -is coiled resistance wire (such'as the wire ,known in the trade as nichrome wire) and in the ordinary size of the commercial instrument, each resistance coil j contains about six or seven feet of No. 38 nichrome wire, where the electric circuit is operated un ldler e micastrips i are formed with holes 71' at their ends, through which holes are passed the ends of the resistance-wire coil j. The

or doubled on it- Between the two heating coils j is interposed a layer of mica k which serves to insulate the coils j which have been thus brought adjacent to each other (Fig. 5). The heating, coils interposed insulating strip is are next inclosed within an insulating casing, such as the mica casing 11., one face at (Fig. 8) of which is formed with a hole at" through which is passed one end of the resistance- Which is then attachedto a suitmica strip 2' is then folded lead wires The other end of the resistance-coil wire is electrically connected with army the metal contact-plate 0 with which the other face n of the mica casing 17, is pro-, vided. The heating element or heater h isinclosed. within and held in place by means ofa sheet-metal boxing or casing p. The upper edge portions of the sides 12* of this sheet-metal box or cover p are folded in toward each other and are firmly engaged with the sides of the arms 9. The lower end of the sheet-metal boxing is hook-shaped and incloses the outer or lower end of the electrical contact with the face 10" of the cover 1) and the latter is secured to the upper end of the arm 9 by means of screws q.

, which. pass through the holes g" formed in the upper part of the face p. These screws gfasten ln'place also the lower edge portion of a ferrule or contact-ring 0" which connects electrically thetwo housings p. This ferrule r is located at the,'outlet end of the wax-containing bore b but it is made so light that it absorbs only little heat and transmits no heat to the wax. If desired, it

may be placed as an ornamental binding around the outside of the handle. The electrlcal circuit may now be traced as follows:

lie on opposite sidesof the longij and the The contact strip 0 is held in good through one of the contact plates 0 and one,

of the sheet-metal casings p to the ferrule 'r; then through the other heater h" and the other lead wire f.

.The operation of the device is as follows: The wax 20 is inserted in stick or like suitable form in the central passage 1) of the handle a and, when the device is held vertically, the stick 20 drops down until its lower end comes in contact with the heating ielements h which, being inclined toward each other, limit the amount of downward movement of the stick. When thecircuit is closed, the wax will be softened at its lower end and can then be applied from the working or melting end of the instrument to the place to be sealed by rubbing this end of the instrument around, the latter being conveniently held' in one hand while the other is used to apply the stamp or impression device. Owing to the shape and arrangement of the heaters and the amount of heat generated therein, the device may, without any danger of the wax becoming sufliciently melted to drop from the heaters, be held up from the paper for ample time to permit the application of the stamp and the replacing of the sealed and stamped article by another one to which the wax is to be applied.

By making the covers 10 and the ferrule 11 of very light stiff metal they are able to transmit such a small amount of heat up toward the holder that the power can be left on for a very considerable time softening of the wax in the holder. Since the section of the device is an oval, as shown without any a at Fig. 2, no soiling and clogging up of the parts occur, even though the device be thoughtlessly advertently left turned on for an indefinite period. This is true because the device will always roll to the position shown in Fig. 2, and the wax that is softened after the device is laid down will flow by gravity down between the heaters and will not clog the holder. a

In the case of ofiices where it is desired to have the wax flow sooner than the heaters h will ordinarily soften it, there may be added outside of the device an additional resistance from which the device receives a small amount of current when the device is dropped and the power be in-- often enough to make the I able, an automatic switch may be added in the form of a hook on which the device is hung, when not in use. This arrangement would be of the ordinary form used in all telephone sets in which the weight of the receiver upon the hook moves the lever to break the circuit, and its removal allows a spring to act to close the circuit. Beneath this hook may beheld a small cup. to catch any drippings of wax which may fall, after the device is hung up. i y

In Figs. 10 and 11 there is illustrated a specific embodiment of this modification of the invention. To the bottom'o'f the drippan 8 there is suitably fastened, as by the screw '25, a disk u upon which is screwed the lower end of the tubular post 'v, the top of which is closed by the screw-cap w formed with acentral hole w. The tubular post '0 .is formed with a holey and a pair of slots y, through which slots extends one end of a switch-arm z the other end of which is bifurcated. The Y switch-arm z is fulcrumed at 2 upon the tubular post 1; and

is held depressed by the weight of the waxholder on of the device. Above the switcharm 2 and within the tubular post 0 there is mounted a block 3 of insulation to which is suitably fastened a contact-plate 4 carrying a binding post 5. The lead wires f are passed through the holes 3 m, and one part of one of the lead wires f is fastened to the binding post 5, while the other part of this lead wire is attached at 6 to the switch-arm z. A coil-spring 7 is interposed between the post 2) and the switch-arm z'and tends to pull the latter upwardlyinto contact with the contact-plate 4. When the wax-holder a of the device is removed from the switcharm 2, the spring 7 pulls the latter into con-- tact with the contact-plate 4,. (see dotted line position of Fig. 10), thereby completing the circuit and'causing current to flow through the heating elements it. By replacing the holder a upon the switch-arm 2,

the'circuit is broken (see full-line position of Fig; 10).

The spacing of the heaters it performs several functions which are essential to the successful operation of a device of this type. The open or air-cooled space about the wax 20 is necessary to keep the same from being softened up to the outlet end of the bore 6 v of the holder and to prevent the wax on the surface of the heaters from becoming overheated and running back into the bore of the holder and clogging the latter. The object ofthe convergencei of the heaters h is to make it possible to deliver the wax to the spot .to be sealed in a condition of plasticity proper for the application of the impression device. By reason of this convergence, the

:weight of the stick of wax in the holder forces the center of the softened end through between the heaters h in a compara- Lively hard though plastic condition, so that I portant bearing upon this degree of plasticity of the applied wax.

Iclaim:

1. A sealing-wax applying-device including a body portion composed of insulating material and formed with a lengthwise-ex-- tending channel for a stick of sealing-wax and at one of its ends with apair of integral spaced j aws; a pair of electrical heaters carried by the latter and having casings of conducting material, which converge toward their outer ends and are arranged to sup port that end of the stick of sealing-wax which is to be melted; said casings being opposed to each other and spaced apart by lateral openings for the freeflow of the melted wax therethrough sidewise of the body portion; that portion of the stick of sealing-wax which lies between the outlet of said channel and said heaters being exposed to air-cooling. Y

2. A sealing-wax-applying device includ ing a body' portion which is oval-like in cross-section and is formed with a lengthwise-extending channel for a stick of sealing-wax and which is provided at one end with a pair of spaced electrical heaters which are opposed to each other and separated by integralopenings which permit the free flow of the melted wax in a direction substantially parallel to the shorter transverse axis of the body portion, whereby clogging of the outlet end of said channel by back-flowing wax when the device is laid down horizontally is avoided.

3. A sealing-wax-applying device includ ing a body-portion composed substantially throughout of a heat-insulating and electricinsulating material and formed with a lengthwise-extending channel for a stick of sealing-wax and with passages for electrical conductors; and electrical heating elements carried by said body portion and provided with casings of conductive material arranged to receive that end of the" stick of sealing-wax which is to be melted, said ele ments being separated from the outlet end of said channel by a substantial air-space which keeps cool that portion of the stick of sealing-wax which lies just beyond the outlet end of said channel.

l. A sealing-waX-applying device including a body-portion formed at one end with teenth day of (Time, A. D. 1912, in the presence of the two undersigned Witnesses.

BABNABAS BRYAN a swell and at its other end with a pair of integral spaced jaws; and electrical heating elements carried by the latter. v v

In testimony whereof I hereunto set my Witnesses:

hand at the borough of Manhattan, city, JAMES HAMILTON county and State of New York, this fif- EMMA MCCARTHY. 

